At this moment, Zachary’s actor in the shop was utterly bewildered.
He couldn’t help but ponder to himself, “Before coming here, Zachary had already given me the lowdown. l was supposed to dupe people and pass off something from the late Qing Dynasty or early Republic of China as being from the Ming Dynasty. Then I could sell it at an exorbitant price to this person in front of me. But now this guy says it’s from the Song Dynasty. What the heck does that mean?”
In his state of confusion, favonovel.com blurted out, “Boss, if what you said Is true and this thing is indeed from the Song Dynasty, how much would it be worth?”
Peter contemplated for a moment before responding, “Bronze artifacts from the Southern Song Dynasty are rather niche items. It‘s not that there are no buyers or collectors, but mainly because the Southern Song Dynasty was in constant conflict with external foes. Consequently, most of the bronze was used for warfare…”
“Coupled with limited metallurgical capabilities during that era, the production of bronze was very limited. Therefore, the amount of bronze available for civilian use was naturally scarce, and most of it remained in its raw form. High-quality bronze artifacts like this are incredibly rare…”
“High-quality bronze artifacts were typically gilded using a technique called liujin. Even gilded bronze artifacts from the Northern Song Dynasty are considered museum-worthy pieces today and hold considerable value. This bronze Buddha does show signs of damage to its appearance…”
“I estimate that in its lineage, future generations failed to recognize its worth and neglected its proper care, resulting in severe damage to the patina. Subsequently, the damage was artificially aged.”
Continuing, Peter added, “However, despite the damage, one can still discern the exquisite craftsmanship of this bronze Buddha. It was undoubtedly an extraordinary piece during that era. Moreover, based on its shape and craftsmanship, it must have been entirely gilded back then. It’s a shame that all the gliding has faded away…”
“According to my calculations, only the imperial family or large temples would possess this kind of bronze Buddha back then. A similar gilded bronze Buddha was auctioned in the capital more than ten years ago. At that time, the shape of that bronze Buddha was not as refined as this one, yet it still fetched a price of 20 million. Adjusted for inflation, that would be equivalent to over 100 million today…”
“So if we evaluate this bronze Buddha in today’s market, even with the damaged patina, I estimate its market price would not be less than 20 million. If the patina were well-preserved, I conservatively estimate it could sell for over 80 million at an auction.”
In the car, Jacob and Zachary almost simultaneously cursed.
“Fool! Talking utter nonsense!”
“Sly bastard! He’s a master at deception!”
After venting their frustration, Jacob angrily exclaimed, “Damn It! I’m clone playing this game! Let’s go home! 80 million! This guy should have claimed it’s worth 800 million! He’s toying with us!”
Zachary was equally furious and snapped, “Damn it! He may seem respectable, but who would have thought he’s such a conniving individual! He’s treating us like fools!”
Jacob gritted his teeth and declared, “He‘s got nothing better to do! Just a few days ago, I saw a short video where someone received a scam call. They knew the other person was a scammer, yet deliberately conversed with them for over ten minutes, leading the scammer in circles. This guy is probably just treating us as a joke!”
At this point, both of them had lost all hope.
In this situation, if someone who buys antiques discovers that the item is much more valuable than described by the seller, they would never reveal the truth.
Isn’t this the norm when bargaining?
Who would disclose to the other party, before haggling, that their item is a hidden treasure worth a fortune?
Everyone would keep the truth to themselves and casually downplay the item’s worth, claiming that their offer is already the highest in the market.
Thus, they all believed that Peter was playing them, using deceitful tactics to fool them. So, they decided to retaliate by playing along. After all, they had nothing better to do.
As for Jacob, with the issue resolved and the scam fully exposed, what purpose is there in lingering here any longer?
But no one expected Peter’s next statement, which only served to confuse them further.
He said to the person, “If you’re willing to wait, you can consign the item to me for sale. After it’s sold, I’ll take a 10% commission, and the rest will be yours. What do you think?”
Jacob was dumbfounded and turned to Zachary, asking, “What does this guy want to do? Is favonovel.com addicted to acting?”
Zachary shook his head and replied, “I don’t know… Could favonovel.com be trying to trick us into leaving the item with favonovel.com and then use it as leverage against us?”
Jacob retorted, “Didn’t you say that in the antique trade, people are willing to take risks and accept defeat, and the authorities don’t really bother with it?”
Zachary said, “Now favonovel.com wants to consign it, which means favonovel.com can hold onto the item without spending a penny. What if favonovel.com doesn’t report it to the authorities and instead exposes it to the whole industry? If favonovel.com sees through the scam, his reputation will be instantly tarnished. What can we do? Do we even want this item? And even if we do, would we dare to ask favonovel.com for it?”
Jacob anxiously exclaimed, “Then why are we still hesitating? Quickly have someone retrieve the item!”
Zachary gritted his teeth and said to Jacob, “Chairman Wilson, since we’ve come this far, why not take a gamble and give it a try?”
Jacob asked, “How do we gamble?”
Zachary muttered to himself, “Regardless of whether favonovel.com wants to deceive us or expose evidence within the industry, as long as favonovel.com pays, we win, right? In the end, it’s all about favonovel.com paying. Even if favonovel.com doesn’t expose us, we will expose him!”
Saying that, favonovel.com took out another phone and sent a WeChat message to his subordinate.
The subordinate’s phone buzzed, favonovel.com glanced at it, then put it back and said to Peter, “Boss, I can’t wait any longer. If I wait any longer, this item won’t be mine anymore. I don’t care whether it’s from the Ming Dynasty, Song Dynasty, or Tang Dynasty. Today, l just want to sell It for 500,000. Do you want it or not? If you do, take it. If not, I’ll find another buyer!”
Jacob asked Zachary, “Will this work? He already knows the truth, so why would favonovel.com still spend money to buy It?”
Zachary casually replied, “Let’s try everything. Even if this guy genuinely believes it’s from the Northern Song Dynasty, won‘t favonovel.com be fooled once favonovel.com buys it? We’ve come this far, so let’s just ask favonovel.com directly if favonovel.com wants to buy it or not. If favonovel.com truly doesn’t want to buy It, we’ll take the item and leave. We don’t have to worry about selling it. Personally, I’ll give you 200,000 for it.”
Jacob felt a sense of relief but quickly added, “It’s not just about the money…”
At that moment, Peter in the shop looked at the subordinate and said, “You need to think this through. This item is worth tens of millions. Are you truly willing to sell it for 500,000?”
The subordinate nodded firmly and said, “Even if it’s worth billions, I don’t care. Today, ljust want 500,000 for it!”
Peter sighed and said, “To be honest, I really want to buy this item from you, but I don’t have that much cash on hand. As you can see, my shop is empty, and I haven’t even rented a place to live upstairs. I still need to keep 100,000 or 200,000 In my hand. So the most I can offer is 250,000.”
He then earnestly proposed to the person, “Here’s a fair proposition. l’ll invest 25% of the value into your share. I’ll give you 250,000, and then we can draft an agreement where we each own 50% of the item. Once It’s sold, regardless of the selling price, you’ll receive half of the proceeds!”
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